Tennessee State Rep. Justin Pearson is known for his disingenuously performative political stunts. He took it too far again on Thursday, screaming in the face of state troopers — completely unprovoked — because his state’s redistricting special session didn’t turn out the way he had hoped.
To quote Pearson: “Move the f*** back! Boy! The f*** is wrong with you? You stupid motherf*****!”
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The theater kid played the tough guy in front of the cameras, but instead of signaling that he won’t go down without a fight, he looked like a sore loser who disrespects the people there to protect him from political violence. Although, it’s his own side that keeps engaging in such violence, so that likely explains his lack of appreciation.
Pearson puts on the persona of a 1960s civil rights activist, despite being born in an era where minority groups receive more special treatment than ever. But that’s exactly why he threw his temper tantrum: Tennessee voted for “color-blind” congressional maps, to quote state House Speaker Cameron Sexton.
Race should not be considered when applying for college and jobs, or when creating congressional maps. If there’s a majority-black district, it should be reflective of the population, rather than a contrived way to get more Democrats in Congress. District boundaries should follow natural communities, county lines, and population equality, instead of racial targets designed to maximize one party’s representation in Congress. When maps are drawn with race as a dominant factor, you get a quota system that divides Americans by skin color.
Of course, Tennessee Democrats are calling this “Jim Crow” — just as they call voter ID laws “Jim Crow 2.0” — and are crying racism. The idea that color-blindness, or treating everyone equally regardless of race, constitutes racism, is a key tenet of Critical Race Theory, which Pearson is a proponent of. As is the idea that racial discrimination is the only way to fix racism.
Thomas Sowell once said something profound that rings true here: “When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.”
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When the dust settles, I highly doubt the theatrics from Pearson and his colleagues will do anything to slow the downfall of diversity, equity, and inclusion as the United States returns to a much-needed era of color-blindness.
An actual civil rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., hoped people would be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. Pearson’s outburst against the men there to keep him safe shows you everything you need to know about his character.
